Intel CEO becomes third exec to leave Trump council after Charlottesville

The CEO of Intel on Monday announced his resignation from President Trump’s American Manufacturing Council, becoming the third executive to do so since the violence in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend.
“I resigned to call attention to the serious harm our divided political climate is causing to critical issues, including the serious need to address the decline of American manufacturing,” CEO Brian Krzanich wrote in a blog post.
“Politics and political agendas have sidelined the important mission of rebuilding America’s manufacturing base.”
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Krzanich called for an end to “scoring political points” and said “the current environment must change.”
“I have already made clear my abhorrence at the recent hate-spawned violence in Charlottesville, and earlier today I called on all leaders to condemn the white supremacists and their ilk who marched and committed violence.”
Krzanich did not mention Trump by name in his post, but his departure from the council comes as the president has faced tough criticism over his response to Charlotttesville.
A white supremacist rally in the town descended into violence on Saturday. A man allegedly drove a car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing one woman and injuring many others.
The driver, James Alex Fields Jr., who drove from Ohio to attend the white supremacist rally, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
Trump initially blamed the violence on “many sides,” which sparked criticism, including from many in his own party.
On Monday, Trump sought to end the backlash, delivering a statement calling racism “evil” and singling out hate groups, including the KKK and neo-Nazis who organized the rally.
But before he made that statement, the CEO of pharmaceutical giant Merck resigned from the counsel.
Trump took to Twitter to blast Merck CEO Kenneth Frasier and the company for their drug prices.
On Monday evening, Kevin Plank, the CEO of sports clothing manufacturer Under Armour, became the second executive to resign, followed by Intel’s Krzanich.
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